In contrast, other retailers have recently gained from rising consumer confidence in the U.S.

Bon-Ton’s $480 million of 10.25 percent notes due in March 2014 lost 2.8 percent last month, the worst performance of any bonds in the Bank of America Merrill Lynch U.S. High Yield Super Retail Index, which climbed 1.7 percent overall. Moody’s Investors Service put its Caa1 rating for the securities on “negative outlook” on Dec. 1, citing the company’s “persistent underperformance.”